There was darkness. So dark, he couldn't see his nose, even if he crossed his eyes. From the darkness came laughter. An evil, maniacal laughter. A laugh he both recognized and didn't recognize. He started to run, but he couldn't tell if he was running towards it or from it. The laugh was getting louder, no matter what direction Max tried to run. Suddenly there was lightening and he started screaming.

MAX! Another voice started calling his name. MAXWELL! It sounded like...Paisley.

And then there was light. Another scream escaped from his lips. Max looked around frantically at a room he did not recognize. Where the fuck was he? His eyes locked on his sisters as she tried to comfort him. Then a man dressed as a doctor? A nurse? came running in. He felt his heart was racing and he could feel his arms and legs flailing about, but his mind felt cloudy, and the voices of the clio speaking were muffled. Paisley was calling his name again, trying to coax him back down.

Finally, with the help of his sister, Max was able to relax. He couldn't even remember what he was freaking out about. Had he been having a nightmare?

Paisley was sitting next to Max's bed, nodding off, when he started flailing wildly. She sat up quickly and leaned over him.

"Max?? Maxwell??"

He continued as if he were fighting a ghost, yelling and kicking at nothing. He opened his eyes wide, the whites of them seeming too white. A flash of fear rushed through Paisley.

The nurse who had rushed in tried to sedate him, but Paisley held out her arm. "Don't touch him," she snapped. Obviously the nurse was just trying to help, but Paisley wasn't going to have him put under if at all possible. He just needed time.

"Max?" she said again, trying desperately to get through to him.

Finally, Max calmed. Gradually he stopped ripping his arms through the air, his breathing slowed and he was able to get out

Max wrote:Paisley? What's going on?

Success!

"Oh, Gods, Max," Paisley exclaimed, closing her hands around one of Max's. She kissed it twice and looked up at him. "You're in the hospital, sweetie. It's going to be okay."

"Hospital?" Max repeated. Everything was so hazy. Max tried to remember what had happened, but it made his head hurt. His face became really focused looking as he tried so hard to remember why he was in the hospital. All he could remember was darkness, darkness and...a girl.

"Skylar," he said suddenly. "Where is Skylar?"

He wasn't sure why he was concerned about Skylar Eligius, but something inside of him felt empty when he thought about her.

Relief covered Max like a blanket, but he wasn't sure why he felt relieved. He knew something bad had happened, something bad to him and Skylar, but he wasn't quite sure what.

"Why am I here?" He finally asked. "Am I sick?"

He didn't feel sick. Other than the clouds floating around his head and the soreness of his body, he felt alright. He looked to his daemon, who was in the form of an elk, for any hints or clues, but Piper only lay there on the floor looking just as confused as he was. He briefly wondered why she was in the form of an elk and not something smaller so that she could lay with him.

Paisley took Max's hands in her own. "It's a long story..." A doctor she'd talked to previously told her that it would be best to take the recovery slow--to not give Max all the details of the situation all at once.

"Do you remember what happened at Redfern?" she asked him. "At night, while you were sleeping?"

Max bit his lip and his brows furrowed in frustration. He remembered something, but what that something was he couldn't say. He did remember feeling confused and scared. But why? He groaned, irritated that he couldn't remember. What the fuck happened? He felt as if he'd been black out drunk for days and finally sobered up but was suffering from a severe hangover. His free hand that wasn't holding Paisley's balled up into a fist and he slammed it on his hospital bed with a frustrated sigh. He felt like a child, laying in that bed with his older sister trying to comfort him. He hated feeling weak.

"I can't remember anything," he grumbled.

His head hurt. He didn't want to think anymore, but he didn't want to stop digging through the darkness of his brain. He felt as if the answer was right there at his fingertips, but he still couldn't reach it.

"Max, please, calm down," Paisley said, her throat tight. Max had always been so sure, and confident. Seeing him like this was scary and sad in a way she'd never experienced before. "Just breathe for a minute."

She wished there was some way to tell him what had truly happened without bringing him pain. Could see even mention anything? It was so difficult to know how to treat this situation.

Max took Paisley's advice, for once, and breathed. In through his nose, out through his mouth. Just how his track coach would tell him after a long warm up run. It worked, and he was able to slow his heartbeat for a moment, and focus on what was in front of him.

"How long have I been gone?" He asked. Max wasn't sure if he had actually been missing or just unconscious, but something told him that it was both.

"Weeks," Paisley said quietly. She wouldn't lie to him, and if he was asking such a direct question he had to have some inkling.

The doctor (who had quietly escaped sometime during Paisley and Max's conversation) returned with a quick knock at the door. "We sent word to your parents, Mr. Sommers, Ov. Sommers. They should be arriving shortly." She dipped out again without another word, obviously trying to stay out of Paisley's way.

She gave Max a small smile. "Paydon's been bouncing off the walls since you got to the hospital. Him and Mom and Dad... they've had it rough."

Max laid his head back and groaned softly. He wasn't in the mood to deal with his parents or younger brother. It was bad enough that he was being babied by Paisley. He knew that his family was only trying to help and be there for him, but sometimes it could be exhausting.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stayed so long! I'm sorry," Paisley said, sitting up. Why hadn't she thought about bothering him? He'd just been through such a terrible ordeal! Of course he wanted to sleep.

"If I leave now, maybe you can fall asleep before they get here. Or...you could always pretend to be asleep. Give yourself a little time before the bombardment."